Frequently asked questions (FAQ)

Have any questions about investing in Air Liquide? These are the most frequent ones.

What is the Air Liquide loyalty bonus?

Following the introduction of legislation in France to promote long-term individual share ownership, Air Liquide introduced a loyalty bonus in 1996. This was intended for shareholders who have owned shares continuously in registered form for more than two calendar years at 31 December. The loyalty bonus comes in two forms:

10% bonus on the ordinary dividend

10% more shares in the case of free share/scrip issues.

All shareholders can benefit from this loyalty bonus, applicable to a maximum stake of 0.5% of the Air Liquide shares, as defined by French legislation.

What is Air Liquide’s dividend policy?

The Group’s dividend policy is based on regular growth in profits, providing regular growth in the dividend. The pay-out ratio varies around 50%. In the past, the dividend per share has never declined from one year to the next.

Why does Air Liquide propose free share/scrip issues?

Traditionally, the Board proposes a free share/scrip issue every two years, generally on the basis of one new share for 10 existing shares. This has been done 28 times over a 60-year period and the next one is scheduled for the second semester of 2017. This free share issue is not a dividend. In the case of a one-for-ten issue, the number of shares increases by 10% and the share price adjusts downwards on the day of the split, usually by 10%. So, the value of the company does not change. In this case, all historic per share indicators (EPS, DPS and historical share price) should be adjusted. Details of this adjustment can be obtained from the Shareholder Services on request.

The scrip issue is very popular with individual shareholders as it maintains the value of each share at a reasonable level over time, despite the regular growth in earnings. Shareholders benefit from more shares in their portfolio, which helps liquidity. As the company has never reduced its dividend year on year in the past, it is also perceived as a way of guaranteeing a solid increase in the dividend every two years.

Shareholders who have held their shares in registered form continuously for more than two calendar years to the previous December 31, will benefit from a loyalty bonus of 10% more shares.

How is share registration done at Air Liquide?

Air Liquide has always promoted the concept of share registration. This allows us to better recognize our shareholders and reward loyal shareholders with 10% extra dividends and free shares during scrip issues.

Share registration can take two forms:

Direct registration – the shares are held in registered form in an account directly at Air Liquide. In this case, there are no custodian fees and the shares can be traded directly by an in-house broker

Intermediary registration – the shares are held in registered form within a normal share account. This is the usual way for an institutional investor to register its shares.

Unlike most companies, Air Liquide manages its share register directly in-house. We believe that the relationship with our shareholders is very important. A dedicated department at head office provides all the registration services, including a brokerage service for directly registered shareholders.